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Ninja Gaiden was an incredibly challenging game to complete. Ninja Gaiden II doesn’t look any easier. Remember back in the day when “difficult” games got bundled with a player’s guide? Final Fantasy came with an 84 page explorer’s guide to when it was released on the NES. Nintendo upped the ante by giving Earthbound a full player’s guide when it was released. Looking back those games weren’t nearly as difficult as Ninja Gaiden.
Tecmo is taking a cue from North America’s past with the release of Ninja Gaiden II. If you pre-order the game in Japan you get a full color Official Guides book with tips and techniques. Microsoft, who is publishing the game everywhere else, has not announced a similar promotion.
The same press release also mentions Ninja Gaiden will be a CERO Z game (AO equivalent), which may seem like a no brainier. However, the previous Ninja Gaiden games in Japan were all CERO D (M equivalent). The PlayStation 3 release, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, removed decapitations to tone down the gore level. If the CERO Z rating is any indicator Tecmo won’t be doing the same with Ninja Gaiden II.
Images courtesy of Tecmo.
